ANBU Operations
by Rooster455
Summary: A collection of stories following the hidden exploits and missions of the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai ANBU . Rated M for violence.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, I don't own any part of Naruto...frak. (Please note that this disclaimer is valid for all future chapters. I'm lazy like that.)

This is my first fic and the idea has been bouncing around in my head for the past few days as I work on my longer story. I'm currently working on a much longer fic, but ideas are slow and this just sprang up as I was thinking of ideas. I might add other ANBU stories as inspiration strikes me.

ANBU Operations

Mission #: 082785A:A

Five shadows silently observed the moderate sized house on the outskirts of a town south of Konoha.

Intelligence had reported that the man who owned the two story house, and the six thugs who guarded it, was an ex-Konoha chuunin who had been dishonorably discharged for insubordination. Apparently he still harbored resentment and was planning to kill the Godaime Hokage. He was a small fry compared to some of the other would-be assassins, but he was good with words and had found some source of money.

But even a small-fry with a well placed needle, coated with poison, could kill if he had the right resources and planning.

That's why ANBU Squadron 3 had been given the mission of eliminating the potential threat.

They started by observing the house in which he lived for two days, taking in routines, layouts and forming a plan. They agreed to start at 0059 hours on the third day, one minute before the guards changed watch.

The first two guards, standing guard outside of the front door didn't even know what hit them.

In a perfectly timed move, four shuriken arced from around the sides of the house. Two of the shuriken lodged in their necks, severing their vocal chords, while the other two punctured their skulls, killing them instantly.

Before the bodies dropped to the ground, two of the operatives appeared next to them, grabbed them, and then leapt away with the bodies.

Once the guards were removed, two more black ops took up positions crouched next to the door. They waited until the two replacement guards opened the front door before they struck.

Shoving kunai into the base of their skulls, they too grabbed their victims and leapt away to dispose of the bodies.

The moment they cleared the door, the last ANBU, the Captain, rushed through the door.

He quickly leapt up the stairs, completely silent. The moment he reached the top he crouched low, scanning, his hand on the hilt of his black-bladed ninjato, before he cautiously crept towards the hallway. He listened as the last two guards talked as they exchanged places before making his move.

One guard started walking towards the corner the Captain was hiding behind, so the moment he rounded the corner a hand was clamped over his mouth and a knife slashed across his throat.

The black op waited until the man was dead before wrapping a cloth around the neck, to minimize blood, and then set the body down.

By now, the captain knew, the other members of his squad has taken up positions around the house to ensure nobody accidentally stumbled upon the mission, and to provide back-up incase something unforeseen happened. But it was very unlikely.

Using a small mirror, the ANBU peered around the corner at the last guard, standing outside his employer's door. He then reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out two shuriken.

After one last glance into the mirror, he sent the shuriken around the corner with a flick of his wrist. The moment they were within three feet of the last guard, the Captain raced around the corner. He arrived at the corpse before it hit the ground, the throwing stars lodged in the man the same way the first two guards were taken out, and caught the body before it hit the ground. He gently lowered the body to the floor and then pulled his shuriken free.

Pressing himself against the door, he could hear his target snoring softly within. Not wanting to wake the target prematurely, the operative instead made a half-ram seal and then sank into the floor. He reappeared on the other side of the door and then pulled out his ninjato.

The sound of the matte-black blade leaving its sheath must have awoken the target, because he suddenly sprang up, knife in hand.

But that's all he did, before a line suddenly appeared across his neck.

The body and the head dropped away from each other and landed with a dull 'thump' as the ANBU Captain wiped off his sword and then sheathed it.

Pulling an item sealing scroll from his equipment pouch, the black op walked over to the severed head and calmly proceeded to seal the evidence of the kill into the scroll. Once done he gave a whistle and the two operative that had taken out the first guards shunshined into the house. Each one removed a guard while the captain picked up the target's body. Then, with a burst of speed, they disappeared.

The whole attack took less than three minutes

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A few hours later, Tsunade walked into her office. Settling into her chair, she found a sealing scroll and a note on her desk saying: "ANBU 3, Mission successful."

A/N:

Well here it is my first fic. Please review and leave any thoughts you might have. But so you know, any flames or just plain insulting reviews will be promptly ignored. If you hate my work, please tell me what I'm doing wrong so that I might be able to improve. But I can't please everyone so if all you're going to do is write a scathing review, I ask that you find a better use for my time and yours.


	2. Chapter 2

Well I was hoping for more hits from my last chapter, but I guess it was just too obscure. Only 6 hits and one alert. Bummer. Hopefully this chapter will bring in more people, so here's hoping.

Now, on with the story!

* * *

ANBU Operations

Mission #: 720676S:S&D

Two men ran as if the Shinigami was chasing after them.

In a sense he was.

The two jounin had been the back-up for the leader of Kumogakure as he attempted to kidnap Hyuuga Hinata in order to obtain the Byakugan. But the plan had gone to hell in a hand basket when their leader ran right into Hyuuga Hiashi.

The two Kumo-nin had arrived just in time to see their leader take a Jyuuken strike to the heart and they immediately took flight, trying to gain as much distance from Konoha as they could before the village was put on high alert.

Unfortunately for them, the head of the Hyuuga clan had seen them run off with his Byakugan and called for a branch member to report the incident to the Hokage.

The moment the branch member gave the sitrep to the 'Professor' he deployed the ANBU squadron currently on standby: ANBU squad 5.

Even among the black ops they were a mystery. Nobody could seem to figure them out, even the other ANBU squads. They were the only squad not assigned a Captain and many times were split up into two man teams for missions. Their outward appearances and how they acted also conflicted with the normal ANBU persona.

The one call signed Bear was actually the strategist of the team and was sharp minded, though his bulky physique led many to believe otherwise. He actually beat Nara Shikaku in a game of shogi once, but the Nara clan head only gave a muttered 'Troublesome' before walking away.

Hawk was the squad weapon specialist. His calm outward appearance when in front of anyone but his teammates gave off the impression that he was the team's unofficial leader, but he was actually quite the pyromaniac. Out of the three equipment pouches on his back, one entire pouch was devoted to exploding tags, flash bombs, smoke pellets and other explosives.

Tiger was odd because he was the only ANBU on the whole force to wear a mask with two colors on it, and rumor had it, among the black ops, that he had inherited some rare and valuable bloodline ability, but what it was only his squad mates (and the Hokage) actually knew. He seemed the most normal out of all of them, with average brown hair, medium build, and a calm and level-headed mind.

The last member's call sign was Fox. Many people, after the attack of the Kyuubi just over three years before, despised and shunned anything that reminded them of foxes, but Fox wore his mask with pride. He also had a larger physique, like Bear, but his look was also deceiving. He was the squad's assassin. He was awarded the "Sneakiest ANBU" award during a friendly competition to let off some steam. He snuck into the home of Inuzuka Tsume and gave her a full kiss on the lips as she slept, which he recorded with a camera normally used for reconnaissance missions, and the then left. He was never caught, even when Kuromaru tried to track down the scent left on Tsume.

They certainly were a talented and odd bunch, and they also seem to enjoy their jobs way too much.

Now the four man cell of ANBU Squad 5 were chasing after the pair of Kumo-nin with orders to capture them for interrogation, or kill them, before they crossed the border of the Land of Fire. So they decided to have as much fun as possible before their targets got within five kilometers of the border.

After a heated game of rock-paper-scissors the order of who got to have fun first was decided. Fox would have the first turn, Tiger the second, Bear third, and Hawk had the honor of finishing their targets off.

The Kumo-nin had stopped to take a slight breather by a river, one tossing a soldier pill to his partner, just in case. Then they heard a noise, in the direction that they had just come from.

Both turned to look and standing on one of the large trees, native to the Land of Fire, stood the four members of Squad 5.

They didn't move, as their prey disappeared into the forest again, until Tiger turned to Fox and simply said: "Have fun."

Fox then vanished in a burst of speed.

The two jounin ran faster though the trees then ever before, not even stopping for a sip of water as they downed their soldier pills. After five minutes of running they both hazarded a glance backwards.

Their eyes widened.

There was nobody behind them.

Hope began to bloom in their chests as they returned their gazes forward… and found a new addition to the pair.

The ANBU with the fox-like mask was flying right with them; running between them like it was nothing!

"Hi!" The Black Op said.

The Kumo-nin immediately jumped away once they reached the next branch and braced for a fight.

But the ANBU was gone.

Their eyes and senses frantically searched the area around them until one of the jounin yelled, "Keep going!" and then took off, followed by his teammate.

They ran for another few minutes before, just as they turned to look back again, a branch suddenly sprouted from a nearby tree and clotheslined the two fleeing ninja.

One falling jounin reached out to grab a branch as he passed, only for it to pull out of his reach.

Caught by surprise, the Kumo-nin landed on the ground with a hard 'Thump!', while his buddy was able to land on his feet. They spun around widely, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Is this forest alive!?" One of the ninja yelled to his partner as trees and branches swayed and creaked around them.

"I don't know! Just keep running! The faster we're out of here the better! Especially with those Black Ops after us." He replied.

They began running again, but this time sticking to the ground to avoid being attacked by the braches above them again.

By then Bear and Hawk had come to the agreement that they would work together to finally take down their prey.

Bear created three Kage Bunshins and Henged them into his squadmates. He then caught up with the fleeing jounin, with his Bunshins, and started to herd the, by now, panicking Kumo-nin. They stayed close enough to be visible, but far away enough so as to disappear and reappear among the trees and bushes. The Bunshins on the edges would move up or back, depending on which way Bear wanted to herd them.

Then they finally reached Hawk, who'd gone off ahead, after ten minutes of chase.

The Kumo jounin could sense their pursuers fading back and one hazarded a glance back.

Sure enough the ANBU had stopped following them.

One jounin was relieved, while the other was apprehensive, as they continued to run, though slightly slower.

They only made it a few more meters before the apprehensive jounin spotted something on a nearby tree.

He skid to a stop, his partner doing like-wise, and he suddenly recognized what exactly what was stuck to the tree in front of them.

An exploding tag!

"Oh, fu-!" Was all the Jounin got out before no less then seven exploding tags vaporized them and everything within a 30 meter radius, and set an even larger area on fire.

* * *

Back in Konoha

"Did you just hear that explosion, Lord Hokage?" One of the ANBU with Sarutobi asked.

"Yes, but I sent Squad 5 to go hunt down the Kumo infiltrators that got away." The Sandaime Hokage replied.

"Oh." Was all that the ANBU said, before returning to his post.

* * *

Once the explosion settled, the members of Squad 5 doused the remaining flames with some simple Suiton and Doton jutsu, and then proceeded to look for any remains.

"Hey! Weren't we supposed to try and capture and interrogate them, before we blew them to kingdom come?" Hawk asked.

"Oh well, too late now." Hawk said, cheerfully.

"You're just happy you got to blow something up." Tiger said.

"But wasn't it awesome! I love the way Kekkai Hōjin (Barrier Encampment Method) concentrates all those fireballs into one big one!" Hawk said.

Bear just sighed before turning to Tiger and asking, "Can you replace some of the greenery lost here?"

Tiger just nodded and then clapped his hands together in the Hebi (Serpent) hand seal. Trees and bushes then started to sprout out from the ground, until, except for some charred ground and trees, the place looked good as new.

"Think I should use more tags next time, Fox?" Hawk asked.

Fox just gave an exasperated sigh before muttering, "Pyromaniac."

"And loving every minute of it!" Hawk retorted as ANBU Squadron Five took to the trees to return home.

* * *

A/N:

Anyone who does read this story, I politely ask you to leave a review, just so I know what people think of my first story. Even if it's all bad stuff, if you could please break it to me in a non-jerkish, constructive manner, I would greatly appreciate it and take your words into account as I work to further my writing skills. Thank you to anyone who gives the time to read this!

Rooster455 out!


	3. Chapter 3

I apologize for such a long gap between chapters to those who were kind enough to add my story to their alerts. This chapter is the prologue of sorts for a concept that I've been working on. I hope you enjoy this.

Inspired by Matthew Reilly's Screenwrite "Rewind".

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"Hokage-sama, ANBU Squadron Nine reporting mission completed with no friendly civilian casualties. Target eliminated."

Tsunade looked the armor clad commandos up and down as they stood at rapt attention before her desk. While she continued to sweep the ninjas with her eyes, the Captain took a step back, returning to his place in line with his squad. His bird like mask hiding all of his facial features, and his body language betrayed nothing.

After finding nothing out of the ordinary, Tsunade finally spoke. "Do any…specifics need to be brought to my attention, Eagle?"

A slight hesitation before the Captain responded "No, Hokage-sama. Nothing out of the ordinary to report."

Tsunade considered their masked faces for a moment more. "Good. Squad Nine, please report back to the barracks for check in. You're next assignment is two weeks paid vacation."

"Dismissed." She cut off any exclamations that would have tried to refuse her order. Their lives were devoted to the missions that they performed. They thrived and died in this line of work.

With a crisp bow the black-ops filed out of the room.

--------------

The ANBU soldier screamed.

He screamed his throat was raw as he buried his mask in blood drenched hands, leaving thick red smears on the otherwise bone white ceramic.

Blood coated the young man's arms and oozed from the soles of his armored boots and shin guards as he dropped to his knees, still screaming to the heavens.

After what seemed an eternity the scream became a wail, which faded into a cry. Soon the cry had become a moan and then it had fallen to a heavy sob.

The man sat on his knees, sobbing in the night as four other similarly clad people watched, their expressions hidden by their masks. One of the shinobi moved to go to the crying soldier, but an arm gently held him at bay. When the shinobi looked to the person who stopped him he received a simple shake of the head, the message clear.

_He needs to deal with this himself. Just like you had to._

The black-ops shoulders sagged and his body language suggested he wanted to rush to the young man's side but he backed off.

_Too young._ He thought. _Too damn young._

After a few more minutes the ANBU who had stopped her comrade took a few steps towards the downed shinobi who continued sobbing, the sound not muffled by his hands or mask. His body wracked as he tried to breath and sob at the same time, his body trying to perform its normal duties even as it expressed the young man's anguish.

"Rhino." The kunoichi said.

The ninja on the ground didn't respond.

"Rhino." She said again.

No response.

"Naruto." She tried.

Thankfully the blonde shinobi raised his head and looked at his squad mate.

"What have I become?" He choked out through his sobs.

Her heart ached. She wanted to comfort him, tell him it would be alright. But she couldn't, she was a soldier. So was he. He would have to learn one way or another, and this was the best way.

"ANBU."

--------------

Rhino was unusually quiet.

For those who knew who he was under the mask they would have scoffed at the idea of Uzumaki Naruto being quiet at all.

But his training to be a Black-Op had taught him that attention was something a shinobi wanted the least of, especially if they wanted to live more than one mission. So he had reigned in the attention-seeking habits he had formed as a child and became one with the silence. The only sound he made was the ever so slight rasp of his breath against his horned ceramic mask.

He waited, hidden in the shadows of an alleyway, while his team reconnoitered the target building. This would be his first mission as a black-op and already he was nervous. He had been tasked to kill a foreign lord who had helped fund a very large, very illegal, organization which had been steadily infecting the Land of Fire with a highly addictive drug that had been discovered recently. Tonight he would prove himself worthy of the mask and tattoo he wore.

Suddenly, Rhino picked up movement from the second story of the target's house.

A hand waved from around a corner, the rest of the body obscured by shadow, then slowly turned over, showing the ANBU specific metal plate on the back of the glove.

Rhino repeated the gesture, and then jumped up the sides of the alleyway. Once he reached the top he gave a mighty push off with his legs, flying in a graceful arc over the street. Just before he landed two shadows appeared at his landing spot.

Naruto smiled behind the ceramic as his two teammates caught him, and then set him down on the rooftop without making a sound.

A faint click of a tongue made him turn towards his captain who was kneeled next to them. Once he had Rhino's attention the veteran shinobi started signing.

_Target, second floor, bedroom, asleep. One guard, second floor, hallway, walking. Two guards, first floor, standing guard. No witnesses. Any more than three minutes: mission is scrubbed. _

Rhino nodded in acknowledgment, then relayed the information back to his captain.

Once he was satisfied, his captain placed his hand on Rhino's tattoo and gave him a quick nod.

Rhino took a quick breath, and then dropped down to the roof next to the second story windows where the last member of the squad waited. The moment Rhino arrived she looked through the window she was crouched next to. Her hand held Rhino at bay until she abruptly pulled the window open. Without hesitation he dove through the opening, his body surging with adrenaline.

He hit the ground on his feet and was immediately running with chakra silenced steps straight towards a slowly walking monstrosity of a man. He was huge and might have been a formidable opponent, had he not been facing the wrong way.

Rhino yanked a kunai from his pouch and then pounced on the thug, burying the blade deep into his neck. He was dead before he could even register that he was under attack.

But the thug was bigger than Rhino had anticipated and though Rhino mostly caught the corpse before it hit the ground, one meaty arm thudded into the wooden floor.

The voice of his instructor ringing in his head prevented Rhino from freezing up, '_Hesitation kills more missions that bad planning or bad luck. If you're committed, don't hesitate or you will surely get you and your team killed'_

Pulling his kunai from the guard's neck, Rhino sprang away from the body towards the target's bedroom, still moving as silently as possible in case his mistake went unnoticed.

He stopped at the door to the bedroom and took only a moment to listen for any noises of alarm by either the guards downstairs or the target and was rewarded by the sound of soft snoring through the doorway. Now moving slow, compared to before, he opened the door and stalked inside. His eyes took in the layout of the room and he spotted the lord sprawled haphazardly across his bed and pillows, snoring peacefully.

Letting his body and mind slip into a sort of auto-pilot, Naruto drew his ninjato from his sheath, raised it above his head, and then plunged it into the man's neck.

The man's eyes sprang open, only to quickly fade into the glazed look of death, only a slight cough escaping from his mouth.

His task complete, Rhino sheathed his sword turned towards to door-

And froze.

A young boy, only about four or five years old, stood staring at him in horror. His eyes were wide and his lip trembled as he took in the armored man in the fearsome horned mask.

Then the kid's gaze fell to the form of the target, blood quickly soaking the sheets.

"…Daddy?" The kid said.

The spoken word seemed to snap Rhino out of his trance and fear surged through him. The kid had seen too much and jeopardized the integrity of the entire mission.

The child must have sensed the danger he was in because he turned and tried to run down the hallway. Rhino immediately gave chase, and caught the kid where the large thug was sprawled.

He knew the kid needed to be silenced; the description of his mask alone would point the finger at Konoha, which was unacceptable. So he drew another kunai and threw it at at the base of the fleeing kid's neck, hoping to kill him quickly and quietly, while another part of his mind screamed at the immorality of killing an innocent child.

But the kid had leapt onto the body because the man had stretched across the hallway. The abrupt change in height made the kunai strike much lower that Rhino had aimed for.

With a dull _'thud'_ the knife buried itself in the kid's side. The child's mouth opened in a silent shriek as pain overwhelmed his small body and he collapsed to the ground.

Rhino was at his side only a moment later, his mind frozen as he watched the child before him writhe on the ground in pain.

'_This wasn't how it was supposed to be!! He's just a kid!!'_ His mind yelled as it caught up with its body's actions. But another part of his mind was also screaming.

'_Quickly!! Finish him off before he regains his voice and gives us away! The mission can't fail!!'_

The mindset, while still Naruto's, was the deep gravelly voice that his captain possessed. Unconsciously, Naruto knew that it was the training and professionalism that had been drilled into him since his acceptance into ANBU.

Only a few seconds after being struck the kid had found some of his voice and was now whimpering and moaning in agony.

Rhino's hand twitched and wavered as his morality and his professional mindset battled between pulling the knife out and giving medical attention, or reinserting it into the kid's neck. He sat for what seemed like an eternity before a he sensed the familiar presence of his Captain behind him.

The whirl of thoughts and emotions settled for a moment when the man's gravely bass spoke.

"Finish him. It has already been two minutes. The tags have been set."

Naruto's hand automatically moved to the pouch at the small of his back and removed one of the kunai there.

"Do it." His Captain said when he saw the slight hesitation in the younger man's hand. Then-

_Snick_.

It was over.

Rhino's body seemed to lose the ability to stay upright at the same time at the child and he fell to his hands in the slowly growing puddle of blood around the child and thug. The crimson liquid soaked into his gloves and kneepads.

The captain continued to look at him for a second or two before speaking again, this time to the rest of his squad.

"Grab him, we're finished here."

Two of the men grabbed Rhino then dashed out of the house followed by the other two ANBU. Half a minute later the house slowly started to burn as the slow-burn tags ignited with barely a whisper. Five minutes later the house was engulfed in flames, the bodies incinerated without a trace.

--------------

"Is he ready?" Tsunade asked, watching Naruto and his teammates running a two-on-two exercise.

"He has been trained up to ANBU standards well within the time given. He is a natural at small scale tactics and is very adept at infiltration and disguise. Chakra reserves were the biggest I've ever seen, even before he was nominated for the ANBU but that has severely hindered his attempts at genjutsu." Naruto's captain said. "His taijutsu and kinjutsu have both been brought up to acceptable levels."

There was a brief pause. "But there is a small snag." He said.

The Godaime Hokage glanced at the man.

"What kind of snag?"

"He has yet to truly end a life."

Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Naruto has killed before. His first kill was when he was with…Jiraiya." Her voice faltered at the name of her ex-teammate.

"Perhaps I should explain. Naruto has only killed in the thick of battle, if Jiraiya-sama's reports were accurate. A bandit attack, the war against Akatsuki, etcetera. They were all kills made in kill-or-be-killed situations. Fights for survival where the deaths were justifiable in his eyes. But he may be asked to stab a person in the heart as they sleep, when they will not be a threat, defenseless. Maybe even women and children whose only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Tsunade's eyes widened with understanding. "Will he be able to complete such a task should it arise?"

The captain observed Naruto as he sparred for a few moments.

"There is no telling for sure, but I do know one thing."

He turned hardened eyes towards his leader.

"He is now an ANBU. He will need to kill, or he will be a liability to the team and will be dealt with accordingly. If one of us has to kill him to save the lives of the rest of the squad, then that is what will happen."

His eyes averted. "We also have to know if we can trust him to do the same to any of us."

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A/N: I ask for any and all feedback that you can provide. I can't improve without it.


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